Syrian Army Deployed To Crush Uprising

News from Syria is hard to confirm, but this report from the AP is chilling:

In a sharp escalation of Syria’s crackdown on dissent, thousands of soldiers backed by tanks poured Monday into the city where the five-week-old uprising began, opening fire indiscriminately on civilians before dawn and killing at least 11 people, witnesses said. Bodies were scattered in the streets and activists said the death toll could rise.

The offensive into the southern city of Daraa was planned in comprehensive detail: electricity, water and mobile phone services were cut. Knife-wielding security agents conducted house-to-house sweeps, neighborhoods were sectioned off and checkpoints set up — suggesting Syria planned to impose military-style control on the city and other areas in the country.

“They have snipers firing on everybody who is moving,” said a witness who spoke to The Associated Press by telephone, asking that his name not be used out of fear for his own safety “They aren’t discriminating. There are snipers on the mosque. They are firing at everybody,” he said.